Massachusettsfilter: Pick our new hometown.

August 12, 2007 3:54 PM

Husband works in Braintree, MA and wife works in Framingham, MA. What's the most affordable area to live in while minimizing the commute to both locations?

Strongly leaning towards buying, but renting advice welcome as well. Husband is interested in a condo.

posted by lizzicide to Travel & Transportation (11 answers total)

Somewhere along I95 would probably work best. Dedham, Hyde Park, and West Roxbury would be among the more affordable towns. Both Braintree and Framingham are among the more affordable towns in the area, but it would mean one person with an awesome commute and the other looking at an hour each way.
posted by emd3737 at 4:01 PM on August 12, 2007

Previously (kinda)

I would suggest Quincy. emd3737 has some good points, too.
posted by nursegracer at 4:20 PM on August 12, 2007

Are the jobs near public transport stations? Is there a preference for driving vs. train commuting? Do they have one car or two?
posted by xo at 4:49 PM on August 12, 2007

Response by poster: One car currently, but they're banking on having to have two cars, and the job in Framingham is very near the public transportation.
posted by lizzicide at 5:09 PM on August 12, 2007

I would suggest Quincy.

Because you know the party that has to work in Framingham and dislike him/her?

the job in Framingham is very near the public transportation.

Commuter rail is for going from the suburbs into Boston. It MIGHT work if you're going from Boston Proper to the location. Never if you're going from the South Suburbs, into Boston, out to a new destination. Unless you love the trains a lot.

You should look at Dedham first, as well as West Roxbury, Norwood, Canton and a second car.
posted by Mayor Curley at 6:54 PM on August 12, 2007

Yeah, those towns are like a 7-10 split: you are both going to have to deal with I-95. I Lived in Dedham for awhile, it may be your best bet since it remains somewhat affordable (kinda, sorta) but it doesn't exactly have a bumping nightlife . . .
posted by jeremias at 6:56 PM on August 12, 2007

What Curley said. Try Walpole too. Here's a map of the towns in the area so you can pinpoint the recommendations, search for town profiles and check out commuting directions.

I'd strongly suggest finding backroads to help you along the way. There are going to be times when you'll need to hop off the highway and see if you can do better on the secondary roads. Traffic can be absolutely atrocious. Sometimes it's a giant accident, sometimes its Cape traffic on a Friday afternoon and sometimes its absolutely nothing. Maddening. My jaw is clenching just thinking about it.
posted by jerseygirl at 7:43 PM on August 12, 2007

I posted the previously quoted question and here is a small suggestion:

Can either one of them work flex hours? I usually go into/out of Cambridge/Boston at non-rush hour times and can make it in about 25 minutes...rush hour is about 1 1/2 hours or so. Even changing someones in/out time by an hour can make a world of difference and open up a lot of possibilities as far as where to live.
posted by UMDirector at 5:28 AM on August 13, 2007

P.S. I do realize that you are not talking about Boston, rather Braintree/Framingham I just used the Boston times as a point of reference re:commute time versus non commuter heavy time.
posted by UMDirector at 5:29 AM on August 13, 2007

Coupled with Mayor Curley's suggestions and jerseygirl's map, this may be helpful info for your decision making:

Affordable housing in MA - SOURCE: Housing Affordability Initiative at MIT's Center for Real Estate - Towns ranked by share of owner-occupied housing units affordable to four-person households earning 80 percent of the Boston metropolitan area's median income.

Ma city and town websites

Community Profiles - array of descriptive, fiscal, and demographic info on all MA communities, compiled by the Department of Housing and Community Development.

Commonwealth Communities - resource for finding info on the 351 cities and towns in MA provided by state agencies and official city/town websites.
posted by madamjujujive at 5:38 AM on August 13, 2007

I'm not sure what your friends' budget is, but unfortunately, the areas and towns that would suit their purposes best geographically (Wellesley, Dover-Shorborne, Weston etc) are all extremely expensive, even for MA standards. You really can't find more expensive real estate in the state, except if you were go to someplace like Hingham, Norwell obviously Martha's Vineyard. Also, most of the towns West of Boston generally don't offer a lot in terms condos or rentals. I think their best bet would be Needham, parts of Newton (otherwise ridiculously expensive), or Dedham. There are a few places in Milton I can think of, but otherwise Milton is either absurdly expensive old homes next to slightly ghetto sections, neither of which is particularly desirable.
The biggest determining factor for me would be whether or not they need to take into account school districts. When you do, you see why modest homes in Newton go for $1 million plus. But if it's just them, then finding a nice condo along the commuter rail should be less difficult.
posted by buka at 12:14 PM on August 13, 2007